“It all begs a chicken-or-egg query: Is Ai the most important artist on the planet because of his politicization, or in spite of it? The answer, simply, is yes.”

"This is what art is supposed to do."

"It’s this use – courageous? foolhardy? – of digital technology and social media to tweak and circumvent state repression that, in part, makes Ai ubiquitous outside China – if not the most important or influential artist of the age, then at least its most emblematic."

"Ai Weiwei is a rarity among artists in that his voice has come to represent an entire people—as dynamic, compelling and contradictory as China itself."

"That we get to know his work better, even in his absence, confirms that Ai has become an international symbol of dissent, and moreover, as skilled a propagandist as the government against which he’s fighting."

“…The literal absence of the artist, who has been under house arrest in Beijing since 2011, hovers as a ghostly presence.”

"His work, his life and the oppressive government reaction to both embody everything art means to us: a fearless consideration and critique of contemporary culture, a compassionate consideration of life as it is lived and the necessity of being able to stand up and speak our minds on those subjects."

"That is the greatest lesson in According to What?: art is even more dangerous than dissent."

“According to What? isn’t the outpouring of a disaffected imagination or an aesthetic outsider. Rather, the exhibition showcases an artist rooted in his own culture’s precepts, and determined to engage them.”

“Ai Weiwei: According to What? is a compelling look at the man and his life’s work, and the AGO’s location next to Chinatown and fiercely independent Kensington Market makes the exhibit particularly well suited to its venue."

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